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President Obama's decision today to abandon the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is both outrageous—as a matter of Justice Department policy and constitutional law—and a miscalculation that will decreases the chances of ObamaCare being implemented, while potentially increasing calls for Supreme Court Justice Kagan to recuse herself from certain gay rights cases.
The President's refusal to defend DOMA, a federal statute enacted by overwhelming margins in the Senate (85 – 14) and House (342 – 67) and signed into law by President Clinton, flies in the face of Justice Department policy and principles of democratic government. It has long been the Department's policy to defend any challenged federal statute unless no plausible argument can be made in its defense. By ignoring that policy, President Obama is engaging in a disturbing power grab that, if taken to its logical conclusion, would allow him to undermine any duly enacted federal law that he doesn't personally agree with.
But that's not the worst of this power grab. In announcing the President's decision, Attorney General Holder informed the nation that "the president has concluded that … sexual orientation should be subject to a more heightened standard of [constitutional] scrutiny." In layman's terms, that means that President Obama has decided that the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause prohibits distinctions based on sexual orientation in the same way that it prohibits racial discrimination.
Of course, the authors of the Fourteenth Amendment would be quite surprised to learn that they had made same-sex marriage a constitutional imperative. However, even putting originalism and strict construction aside, it was heretofore accepted that only the judicial branch—particularly the Supreme Court—has the authority to determine the appropriate level of Fourteenth Amendment scrutiny and whether a particular piece of legislation meets that level of scrutiny.
Apparently, President Obama has now taken that authority upon himself. And this from an Administration that was outraged that Congressmen were even discussing the proper interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment provision dealing with birthright citizenship.
This is not the first time that President Obama has shown he is willing to do an end run around the other branches of government in pursuit of his political agenda. His use of White House czars to circumvent the Senate confirmation process and of the EPA to circumvent legislative resistance to cap and trade should have forewarned us that he would attempt today's end run around the judicial system.
Even if today's end run succeeds, President Obama may come to regret it should he fail to win reelection. In that case, it will be up to a Republican president to defend ObamaCare against current and future constitutional challenges. Obama has just handed his successor a perfect excuse to effectively repeal or cripple ObamaCare by refusing to defend it in court.
Even in the short term, the President has strengthened the hand of ObamaCare opponents, particularly the many states that question its constitutionality and plan to resist its implementation. After abandoning DOMA, Obama has no moral authority to argue that, because ObamaCare is the law of the land, all government officials must enforce it unless and until the Supreme Court decides it's unconstitutional.
Finally, even the President's critics will concede that his conclusion about the proper level of constitutional scrutiny for sexual orientation—whether right or wrong—must have been based on legal research and analysis rather than just a sudden political whim. If so, Obama and Holder surely consulted the nation's Solicitor General—the government's top constitutional attorney—when conducting this important legal analysis. As a result, the Administration will be called upon to disclose whether Elena Kagan was still Solicitor General when this consultation began.
If the answer is yes and Kagan was involved in determining the federal government's official position on the proper scrutiny for sexual orientation, it opens up an ethical can of worms for her concerning Supreme Court cases in which that standard is at issue. It's a can of worms that Obama may come to regret.
Cross-posted at the Committee for Justice blog.


text: Mathematics Yo, check it one for Charlie Hustle, 2 for Steady Rock 3 for the forthcoming live future shock. It's 5 dimensions, 6 senses, 7 firmaments of heaven and hell, 8 Million Stories to tell. 9 planets faithfully keep in orbit, With the probable tenth, the universe expands length. The body of my text possess extra strength. Power-lift the powerless up out of this towering inferno, My ink so hot it burn through the journal. I'm blacker than midnight on Broadway and Myrtle, Hip-Hop passed all your tall social hurdles. Like the nationwide project-prison-industry complex, Working-class poor: better keep your alarm set. Streets too loud to ever hear freedom ring, Say evacuate your sleep, it's dangerous to dream. But you chain cats j-j-pow! You dead now, Killing fields need blood to graze the cash cow, It's a number game, but shit don't add up somehow. Like I got, 16 to 32 bars to rock it, But only 15% of profits ever see my pockets like. 69 billion in the last 20 years, Spent on national defense but folks still live in fear like. Nearly half of America's largest cities is one-quarter black, That's why they gave Ricky Ross all the crack. 16 ounces to a pound, 20 more to a ki, A 5-minute sentence hearing and you're no longer free. 40% of Americans own a cell phone, So they can hear everything that you say when you ain't home. I guess Michael Jackson was right: "You Are Not Alone", Rock your hardhat, black, cause you in the Terrordome. Full of hard niggas, large niggas, dice-tumblers, Young teens and prison greens facing life numbers. Crack mothers, crack babies and AIDS patients, Young bloods can't spell but they could rock you in PlayStation. This new math is whipping motherfuckers' ass, You want to know how to rhyme you better learn how to add. It's mathematics It's one universal law but 2 sides to every story, 3 strikes and you be in for life, mandatory. 4 MC's murdered in the last 4 years, I ain't trying to be the fifth one, the millennium is here. Yo it's 6 Million Ways to Die, from the 7 deadly thrills, 8-year olds getting found with 9mils. It's 10 P.M., where your seeds at? What's the deal? He on the hill pumping krill to keep they belly filled, Light in the ass with heavy steel, sights on the pretty shit in life. Young soldiers trying to earn their next stripe, When the average minimum wage is $5.15. You best believe you've got to find a new grind to get C.R.E.A.M, The white unemployment rate? It's nearly more than triple for black. Some front-liners got their gun in your back, Bubbling crack, jewel theft and robbery to combat poverty. And end up in the global jail economy, Stiffer stipulations attached to each sentence. Budget cutbacks but increased police presence, And even if you get out of prison still living. Join the other 5 million under state supervision, This is business: no faces, just lines and statistics. From your phone, your zip code to S-S-I digits, The system break man, child, and women into figures. 2 columns for "who is" and "who ain't niggas", Numbers is hard and real and they never have feelings. But you push too hard, even numbers got limits, Why did one straw break the camel's back? Here's the secret:. The million other straws underneath it: it's all mathematics. Quote by Mos Def from Mathematics on the album Black On Both Sides

subset: commoncrawl


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First Test: 2012 Land Rover Range Rover Evoque
New, Baby Rover is set to Climb Mountains and the Charts
The rugged Welsh island of Anglesey frequently is wet, cold, and windy; a place where sideways rain can hit you like a spray of icy tacks. It's also a place whose rocky, hilly terrain could keep a mountain goat happy for eons. So when it came time to introduce the all-new Range Rover Evoque -- a vehicle projected to be Land Rover's best-seller -- the folks from Gaydon figured where better than...wet, cold, windy, rocky, hilly, and mountain goat-friendly Anglesey.
When I first learned I'd be driving the Evoque and did my initial research -- perusing specs of the 240-horsepower, 28-mpg-highway, 2.0-liter engine, reading up on the Haldex IV all-wheel-drive system, and looking at photos of the sporty four-door and concept-copy two-door -- taking it off-road never crossed my mind. Perhaps I was too smitten with the striking shape, high beltline, big wheels, scrunched greenhouse, and shrink-wrapped sheetmetal, all of which conjured up images of zipping along twisty blacktop at silly speeds. Unlike any Land Rover before it, the LR2-based Evoque is so sopping with sport, style, and urban appeal that venturing off-road seems almost inappropriate. But trust me, it's not.
According to Land Rover, the Evoque is as capable off-pavement as the LR2, thanks to similar ground clearance (8.4 inches versus 8.3), approach and departure angles (25 and 33 degrees, respectively, versus 29 and 32), break-over angle (22 degrees versus 21.5), and maximum wading depth (19.7 inches). Further, Land Rover says the Evoque is not too far behind the capability of the Range Rover Sport, which offers a true low range. Exploring Anglesey's unforgiving landscape with the Terrain Response system set to Mud and Ruts -- one of five settings that include General Driving, Sand, Grass/Gravel/Snow, and, when equipped with $1250 Adaptive Dynamics, Dynamic -- proved a hairy albeit effortless adventure. The Evoque handily overcame boulders the size of watermelons and divots that could hold more gunk than a wheelbarrow.
Why Land Rover Range Rover Evoque and not just Land Rover Evoque? High style, of course -- non-Range Rovers (LR2 and LR4) are workhorses and more about function than fashion -- and the perceived preeminence that goes with wearing the Range Rover badge. Speaking of Range Rover, the Sport, at 188.0 by 78.8 by 70.4 inches, used to be the smallest RR, a title the two-door Evoque now claims with dimensions of 171.5 by 77.4 by 63.2. Even the compact LR2, at 177.1 by 78.9 by 68.5, is larger in every measurement. And don't forget that the four-door Evoque is only slightly bigger in length (+0.4 inch) and height (+1.2 inches) than its two-door sibling, and still smaller than the LR2.
The Evoque is also easier on the scales. Utilizing such weight-saving techniques as an aluminum-intensive strut suspension, electric power steering, composite front fenders and tailgate, aluminum hood and roof, and a magnesium crossbeam, the I-4 Evoque four-door at 3945 pounds weighs 365 pounds less than the last I-6 LR2 we tested.
At the test track, the Evoque's decreased mass equaled more speed and agility. Compared to the 230-horsepower, 234-lb-ft LR2, which hit 60 in 9.0 seconds flat and the quarter mile in 16.8 at 82.5 mph, the 240-horse, 251-pound-feet Evoque four-door needed only 6.7 to reach 60 and just 15.1 at 91.8 to obliterate the quarter. For negligible bumps in power and torque, those are some significantly quicker numbers -- see what shedding an NFL lineman can do? (Surprisingly, the 30-pound-lighter Evoque two-door was slightly slower -- 7.0, 15.3 at 91.0 -- than the four-door, a fact Land Rover peeps had no explanation for.)
Within its competitive set, the Evoque four-door had no problem hanging with its foes, delivering comparable numbers to the Audi Q5 3.2 (6.6; 15.0 at 93.6), BMW X3 xDrive28i (6.7; 15.0 at 91.9), Mercedes-Benz GLK350 4MATIC (6.8; 15.1 at 91.8), and Volvo XC60 T6 (6.8; 15.2 at 93.9). Moreover, wearing sizeable rubber -- 235/55R19s for the four-door and 245/45R20s for the two-door -- the Evoques hung on for 0.82 g worth of lateral grip, again right there with the Q5 (0.85), X3 (0.81), GLK (0.80), and XC60 (0.81). Braking? At 128 feet from 60-0 mph (125 for the two-door), the Evoque four-door trails its rivals but not by much -- Q5 (120), X3 (125), GLK (118), and XC60 (120). And if you're wondering how the LR2 compares in handling and braking, well, quite respectably -- 0.76 g and 126 feet.
Out on the open, country roads around Anglesey and thru the busy, city streets of Liverpool, the Evoque provided a secure, sporty feel that made maneuvering a right-hand-drive vehicle on the left-hand side of the road far less nerve-racking than had I been in a bigger, boxier Range Rover Sport. Still, nothing quite compares to driving a U.S.-spec vehicle on familiar roads, something I was lucky enough to do with a pair of Evoques back in Los Angeles. No longer analyzing the odd sensation of feeling lateral g-forces from the right side, or worrying about hitting curbs or roadside vegetation, I found the Evoque to be far more lively and engaging than I had in the U.K. Output from the Ford-based DI 2.0-liter turbo is smooth and plentiful, negating any thought of needing a six-cylinder. In fact, peak torque of 251 lb-ft is realized at a low 1750 rpm. Its partner, an Aisin six-speed automatic with paddle shifters, is seamless and responsive, and efficient enough to return fuel economy of 19 mpg city/28 mpg highway, on par with that of Audi's 2.0T Q5 (20/27). Steering feel is first rate -- not easy to do with EPS -- and the suspension relays quick inputs without ever coming across harsh or nervous.
Our $57,795 ($52,895 base) Dynamic Premium two-door came with optional 20-inch wheels and the Adaptive Dynamics package replete with magnetic dampers, which proved a worthwhile upgrade for those looking for the utmost in sportiness. Set the Terrain Response system to Dynamic mode -- heightening reaction from the dampers, throttle, and steering as well as changing the gauge hue from white to red -- rotate the drive selector over to Sport, and the Evoque morphs into a wannabe rally machine. Never has a Land Rover been this fun and enthralling. Think WRX with Outback ground clearance, drop-dead body, and chic interior, and you get the picture. For a vehicle that is so competent off-road, its on-road prowess is truly impressive. Even our $50,020 ($43,995 base) Pure Premium four-door, sans Advance Dynamics, delivered not only comparable handling numbers but also a highly rewarding behind-the-wheel experience.
Inside, the Evoque treats with a handsome, smartly laid-out cabin. Except for Dynamic and Prestige trims, which are available in a choice of stimulating interior colors, the ambiance of the Pure trims is somewhat reserved, as in tasteful but not flashy. As it should be with a rig that starts at $43,995, standard equipment is extensive, including a power tailgate, Bluetooth phone and audio, 380-watt Meridian audio, leather seating, 19-inch wheels, pushbutton start, and six airbags. Among the many options are Xenon headlamps, a five-camera surround-view system, 825-watt Meridian audio, navigation, and 20-inch wheels.
Other than style, there is no reason to buy the two-door over the four-door. It offers poorer visibility and less of the following: rear headroom (38.2 inches versus 39.7), rear legroom (35.7 inches versus 43.1), and cargo room (19.4 cubic feet versus 20.3 with seats up; 47.6 versus 51.0 with seats down). Plus, it costs $1000 more. But, it's got that style. A dead ringer for the arresting LRX Concept that debuted in Detroit back in 2008, the two-door will make neighbors jealous and valets say, "Don't worry, this will go right up front." Land Rover sees owners of TTs, 3-Series coupes, and the like moving into the Evoque two-door, and we don't have any reason to doubt that prediction -- it combines sexy, coupe styling with a raised seating position and go-anywhere capability. Still, the two-door is expected to account for only about 20 percent of volume, with the four-door slated as the big seller.
Whether two- or four-door, the Evoque is destined to be a big hit for Land Rover. It melds an alluring, sturdy facade and smart, tech-laden interior with a robust, efficient powertrain and a rewarding, all-conquering chassis. Eliciting stares and cheers with the same ease that it dominates mountains and deserts with, the Evoque is indeed a rock star.
2012 Land Rover Range Rover Evoque | ||
Base price | $43,995; $52,895* | |
Price as tested | $50,020; $57,795* | |
Vehicle layout | Front-engine, AWD, 5-pass, 2- or 4-door SUV | |
Engine | 2.0L/240-hp/251-lb-ft turbocharged DOHC 16-valve I-4 | |
Transmission | 6-speed automatic | |
Curb weight (f/r dist) | 3945 lb (58/42%); 3915 (59/41%)* | |
Wheelbase | 104.8 in | |
Length x width x height | 171.5-171.9 x 77.4 x 63.2-64.4 in | |
0-60 mph | 6.7 sec, 7.0 sec* | |
Quarter mile | 15.1 sec @ 91.8 mph; 15.3 sec @ 91.0 mph* | |
Braking, 60-0 mph | 128 ft; 125 ft* | |
Lateral acceleration | 0.82 g (avg) | |
MT Figure Eight | 27.7 sec @ 0.66 g (avg); 27.7 sec @ 0.64 g (avg)* | |
EPA city/hwy fuel econ | 19/28 mpg | |
CO2 emissions | 0.87 lb/mile | |
*2-door |
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Tales of Monkey Island 2.0
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Tales of Monkey Island: An epic adventure in five parts.
While explosively stripping the evil pirate LeChuck of his demonic mojo, Guybrush Threepwood inadvertently infects the entire Caribbean with the arch-fiend's expelled voodoo, which threatens to transform buccaneers into unruly pirate monsters. Pursued by a notorious cut-throat Pirate Hunter and a creepy French Physician who believes that Guybrush's eerily-infected hand holds the secret of eternal life, Threepwood sails the seven seas in search of La Esponja Grande, a legendary sea sponge with unparalleled voodoo exfoliating abilities. But little does Guybrush know, his quest is part of a larger, more sinister plot, and good and evil are not always as they seem


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Half-life of spilled oil in BP Gulf Oil just six days?
The BP oil well disaster is on trial this week, but one of the non-legal questions remains? Why was the spill, catastrophic in size, less than catastrophic in impacts. The story have been found in the Gulf's smallest residents, oil eating microbes. And they apparently had a massive ability to consume oil.
The Gulf of Mexico may have a much greater natural ability to self-clean oil spills than previously believed, according to Terry Hazen, University of Tennessee-Oak Ridge National Laboratory Governor's Chair for Environmental Biotechnology.
The bioremediation expert presented his Deepwater Horizon disaster research findings at the 245th National Meeting and Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS), the world's largest scientific society.
Hazen conducted research following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster, which is estimated to have spilled 210 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. His research team used a powerful new approach for identifying microbes in the environment to discover previously unknown and naturally occurring bacteria that consume and break down crude oil.
"The Deepwater Horizon oil provided a new source of nutrients in the deepest waters," said Hazen. "With more food present in the water, there was a population explosion among those bacteria already adapted to using oil as a food source. It was surprising how fast they consumed the oil. In some locations, it took only one day for them to reduce a gallon of oil to a half gallon. In others, the half-life for a given quantity of spilled oil was six days."
This data suggests that a great potential for intrinsic bioremediation of oil plumes exists in the deep sea and other environs in the Gulf of Mexico. Oil-eating bacteria are natural inhabitants of the Gulf because of the constant supply of oil as food.
Hazen's team used a novel approach for identifying previously recognized kinds of oil-eating bacteria that contributed to the natural clean up of the Deepwater Horizon spill. Instead of growing the microbes in a laboratory, the team used "ecogenomics." This approach uses genetic and other analyses of the DNA, proteins and other footprints of bacteria to provide a more detailed picture of microbial life in the water.
"The bottom line from this research may be that the Gulf of Mexico is more resilient and better able to recover from oil spills than anyone thought," Hazen said. "It shows that we may not need the kinds of heroic measures proposed after the Deepwater Horizon spill, like adding nutrients to speed up the growth of bacteria that break down oil or using genetically engineered bacteria. The Gulf has a broad base of natural bacteria, and they respond to the presence of oil by multiplying quite rapidly."


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BeGO: Plans finalised for satellites to help safeguard gorilla habitats | |
2003-11-04 | |
The BEGO project that aims at employing Earth Observation products to help protect endangered mountain gorillas has moved forward with a Paris-based gathering of all those who will use the data in Central Africa's remote rainforests. | |
Humans have proved to be bad neighbours to the beleaguered mountain gorilla, of whom only a few hundred are thought to remain alive. The gorillas dwell in the high rainforests of Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, concentrated in a set of national parks across all three countries. But deforestation and illegal poaching render these habitats - and the gorillas' survival - under threat.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) recognises these parks as World Heritage Sites. However, although they are protected, years of regional unrest and the subsequent arrival of refugees are encroaching on these sites, with people clearing forest-land for agriculture or fuel. A joint ESA/UNESCO DUP project called BeGO – for Build Environment for Gorilla – commenced last April with the intention of providing satellite imagery and products of these sprawling and often inaccessible habitats to conservation groups and local authorities working to protect them. A three-day BeGO workshop took place last week at the headquarters of UNESCO in Paris. Gathered there were gorilla conservation experts from the International Gorilla Conservation Programme, the Wildlife Conservation Society and the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International as well as the Institut Congolais de Conservation de la Nature. Also present were representatives from the United Nations Great Ape Survival Project (GRASP) and authorities from the Virunga National Park in the Congo, bordering Rwanda and Uganda. They met with representatives of ESA and UNESCO as well as technicians from Synoptics, the Dutch-based company tasked with delivering BeGO data. The discussions covered several operational aspects of the project such as consolidating the user requirements – including settling the type of geometrical projection to which all satellite-based products have to be standardised – and organising the ground data collection campaign. "What will be of great value to everyone working in this area is that we will all be working from the same set of reliable geo-referenced charts," said Professor H. Dieter Steklis of Rutgers University, Chief Scientific Director of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International. "It will make cross-collaboration and the complex analysis of data from multiple sources much more practical." Such standardisation enables all results to be inputted into standard geo-information system (GIS) software so different data sets can be assimilated, like overlaying different maps together to learn more about a given location. The Dian Fossey Fund already uses GIS to model gorilla movements, habitats and environmental factors, with inputs of GPS co-ordinates gathered by forest patrols on gorilla locations and poaching activities. But the GIS is currently based on old maps dating back as far as 1936. BeGO will create new maps on a 1 to 50000 scale to serve as a more accurate GIS basis. "Great stress has been placed on the importance of more accurate maps for the conservation effort," explained Mario Hernandez of UNESCO. "Using GPS technology local users can collect co-ordinates of places where gorillas are dwelling – but right now, when they try and plot these sites on a map, the map turns out to be wrong. "Even the precise national and park boundaries are uncertain down on the ground. There are settlers who are living within a park who claim they are in fact outside it. Accurate maps will significantly assist the authorities in discussing the boundaries with local communities to settle current disputes." Agreement was also reached on what kind of vegetation classes will be derived from a ten-year satellite archive, to help understand how the habitats have been affected during the last decade, and the effect this has had on the gorillas themselves. "Obtaining detailed vegetation classification maps across the area is something we at the Dian Fossey Fund are very interested in," said Steklis. "It will help answer outstanding research questions about how the gorillas move through and make use of their environment, what the maximum carrying capacity of the habitats are and how they are changing over time. This information is obviously also of use to local authorities charged with looking after the gorillas." The need to create an improved-resolution Digital Elevation Model (DEM) from satellite imagery was also stressed. In the Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo, for instance, the terrain varies from sea level to altitudes close to 5000 metres. Up until now, the same 1930s-era maps have been the basis of existing DEMs, with a few select areas also covered by Space Shuttle radar data gathered during the mid-1990s. This year ESA and UNESCO formalised with a signature a wider initiative for the use of space technologies to support the World Heritage Convention. Other space agencies have joined this initiative: for instance, the Belgian Federal Science Policy Office intends to use space technologies to map all World Heritage Sites within the Democratic Republic of Congo. It was announced at the workshop that data and expertise would be fully shared between this project and BeGO. Another piece of news shared at the workshop is that results from the latest ground inventory of mountain gorilla numbers should be available soon. The previous such effort indicated that the gorilla population showed a slight increase during the last decade, up from 620 to around 677, suggesting that conservation efforts are paying off. Following this workshop, the first BeGO products are due for delivery to users from early next year. |
Related links
International Gorilla Conservation Programme
Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International
United Nations Great Ape Survival Project
Annex images


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Advanced CSS3 and HTML5
Learn how to use exciting new features in CSS3 and HTML5 to design animated interactive websites for desktops, laptops, and mobile devices.
You've heard the buzz about CSS3 and HTML5? These latest versions of HTML and CSS have redefined how Web pages are created. So if you're going to design Web pages, you need to know how to work with CSS3 and HTML5.
This course will teach you how to take advantage of HTML5 "semantic" tags that make page design far more intuitive, faster, and easier compared to older versions of HTML. And you'll learn to use HTML5 to create basic mobile pages and apps.
In this class, you'll learn to use HTML5 to provide video that works in any environment. HTML5 makes it possible to build inviting forms that test user data without back-end coding. It also allows designers to include friendly tools like calendars, calculators, and color palettes to encourage accurate user input. You'll leave this course with the skills to create all those elements.
And you'll learn to wield new CSS3 features essential for fast-loading, exciting, interactive websites, especially mobile sites. You'll create complex gradient blend backgrounds for pages and page elements, without using image files. And you'll learn to use jQuery Mobile to create app-like mobile Web pages and themes— complex sets of styles for mobile sites.
In short, you'll leave this course with valuable skills essential to creating modern websites.


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"The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary." ~ H.L. Mencken
A Fine and Functioning Anarchy
Column by Alex R. Knight III.
Exclusive to STR
Those of you who may perchance recall (or might care to read for the first time) my second piece ever published here at STR, "Anarchism and Alcohol," are in for a bit of a converse experience.
A recent acquaintance of mine – I'll call him Larry, for purposes of anonymity (the further relevance of which shall become clear shortly) – related a story just earlier at the time of this writing, in which a friend of his referred to a certain venerable organization as a prime example of the title of this essay: a fine and functioning anarchy. That organization happens to be Alcoholics Anonymous – a private, non-profit group of voluntarily participating individuals who all share the common and simply understood (though not always simply achieved) goal of sobriety. That is, for those individuals who have arrived at the personal conclusion that they are problem drinkers to stop consuming alcoholic beverages altogether.
Larry, being a member himself, related certain characteristics of A.A. within a rather unusual context: Albeit that the most recent U.S. Census was now conducted over two years ago, it seems that the government bureau directed to administer that asinine decennial ritual randomly selected Larry's household as a sample demographic of the area in which he resides. Accordingly, they have been telephoning him on a routine basis with an ever-expanding list of questions – a practice which, according to Larry's own testimony, has become borderline "harassment." (Note: This also brings to mind another prior STR piece of mine, from which Larry and others might benefit in the future, "Don't Answer the Census"). At any event, the U.S. Census Bureau-crat on the other end of the line most recently asked Larry whether he was involved in anything that might be classified or construed as "volunteerism." Evidently, the Bureau-crat in question, under the preposterous auspice of protecting privacy (were he really concerned about that, he would not be phoning Larry in the first place – nor, for that matter, would the Bureau-crat have the employer he does), did not ask Larry to identify by name any organizations which might be categorized as falling within the purview of such activity. Rather, he inquired strictly about the nature of any such volunteerism – if in fact any did exist in Larry's daily affairs. When Larry replied, with some understandable degree of hesitance, in the affirmative, the Bureau-crat then proceeded to regale him with questions such as whether or not it was a community-based organization. Whether it accepted public funds. Whether it was comprised of any official leadership. And so on.
Most if not all of Larry's responses were in the negative. For A.A. members are indeed volunteers – but wholly independent. There exist no "leaders" within A.A. membership. All funds are raised by internal voluntary contributions. No funding is either solicited, or accepted, outside of A.A. membership. Nor are there dues, fees, or any other mandatory financial obligations on the part of A.A. members, or requirements for membership other than a sincere desire to stop drinking and both achieve and maintain sobriety. A.A. also neither endorses nor opposes any and all causes, and intentionally and most stringently stays out of all controversial arenas such as politics, religion, and media exposure. In addition, all A.A. groups are autonomous and independent of one another – though members are free to attend meetings and participate as they freely choose within the overall A.A. milieu. In fact, A.A. actively shuns the concept of organization, as such, and shies entirely away from the concept of promoting poster-boys or prominent personalities in order to carry the message of sobriety to others. Rather, A.A. relies upon outside voluntary attraction. They are there to assist the alcoholic who decides to seek help on their own, without forcible coercion.
These revelations so befuddled the Bureau-crat to whom Larry was speaking, that he evidently felt obliged to reveal the organization's identity. It perhaps comes as no surprise that A.A. was and is an organization so relatively unique and anarchistic in its structure (or relative lack thereof), that it does not fit within the bureaucratic framework of the U.S. Census Bureau's categorization – a fact that, according to Larry, he pointed out to the Bureau-crat . . . who in turn stated that he ought to pass such information along to a supervisor. I'd like to think that might produce some kind of marginally beneficial result. However, jaded libertarian that I am, my reaction is almost a default cliché: "Good luck with that."
When we reflect that A.A., part of the societal landscape since 1935, has had such an unprecedented level of success the world over in treating alcoholism by helping countless alcoholics achieve lasting sobriety, and has done so by actually denying leadership and organization – instead relying upon the goodwill, sincerity, insights, and expertise of individual members – it sheds some significant light on precisely why a violent and coercive institution such as government functions so poorly by comparison. Larry's equally anonymous friend, all the evidence shows, is precisely correct: Anarchy can and does function just fine, where and when it is permitted to bloom.
And that's a life lesson most anyone can learn, no matter where or who they are.


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Thursday, October 18, 2012
Reinhart-Rogoff vs. Bordo-Haubrich (with grandstanding by John Taylor)
66 comments:
Ya, I knew it was going to be bad when I read the title of his post.
I have to say, Taylor is a guy that I used to have a ton of respect for... until he started blogging and I started reading a lot of his of the cuff thoughts. I still respect him obviously but the blogging has been revealing.Replies- Anonymous11:46 PM
It's not just Taylor. You can say similar things about Cochrane, Holtz-Eakin, and Mankiw. All have a slew of great papers (and some decent textbooks). Looking purely at academic output, they're impressive. When they blog for Team Republican, there's just so many eye-rolling moments. There's "arguing from identities" issues. They say things that contradict their own academic work (and in some cases, what they say in their textbooks), or contradict things said in their own previous blog posts (usually as a result of Republicans doing a 180 on some policy belief). Sometimes they say things that just get even the most basic econ 101 things wrong.
It's a bit odd because others are pro-GOP, but it's not THAT bad. I don't like the elasticities or growth rates Rosen uses in his analysis of a Romney-like tax plan. I think he's cherry-picking parameters to get the results he wants, but it's not like he's making basic fundamental mistakes (which Taylor, and especially Cochrane, have done a lot of over the past couple years). But why? Maybe they'll get legions of GOP voters to love them, but people in economics notice these mistakes and it does damage to their academic reputations. I swear there must be secret accounts in the Cayman Islands filling up with millions for each of them. Otherwise, I really can't understand their motivation.
I purposely didn't include Prescott in the above list because he's always been a bit kooky. Cochrane, to my knowledge, does not work as a Republican advisor, though he obviously has conservative political leanings. His anti-stimulus ranting appears to be motivated primarily be a personal dislike of Paul Krugman...
Delete- Anonymous10:42 AM
I wasn't necessarily claiming all were paid advisers, although some obviously are (or have been). It's more about the stances they publicly take. More specifically, when they take stances that contradict (or disregard) what you'd think were uncontroversial or undisputed economic arguments for reasons that can't be justified other than a personal desire to make the policies of one party look good and the other bad.
You may be right about Cochrane, that it's not so much pro-GOP, but anti-Krugman/DeLong. Either way, the main point stands. Whether it's partisan or personal, the quality of economic thought on the blog is sometimes much lower than his other work (for example, his asset pricing book), if not outright wrong on a very fundamental level. Maybe they'll get legions of GOP voters to love them, but people in economics notice these mistakes and it does damage to their academic reputations.
Is this actually true? Are there economists that have been hurt by shilling for Republicans? Or do most of their colleagues agree or excuse them as Noah does above.Is this actually true? Are there economists that have been hurt by shilling for Republicans? Or do most of their colleagues agree or excuse them as Noah does above.
This is very difficult to know...as I always say, most people who disapprove of something do so silently.
I will say that nobody I have ever met seems to take John Taylor seriously as a research scientist. But that was true before he went to work for Romney.
- Anonymous11:48 PM
Very amusing to see Krugman (or all people) complain about politics hurting economics. (Okay, maybe it is no more amusing than seeing DeLong complain similarly, as he seems to do fairly routinely.)
ReplyDeleteRepliesWell, I think there is a difference between economists with political leanings (Krugman, Cochrane, DeLong) and economists who actually work for political candidates (Taylor, Mankiw). Though I notice Mankiw has done an admirable job of not saying anything this election season...that is truly impressive.
DeleteMankiw usually doesn't say anything, but uses others to say essentially the same thing. e.g. he will post arguments among Taylor & Krugman (or Cochrane and Krugman, etc.) and conveniently leaves the conservative-leaning economist the last word.
In fact, he did it with this very topic: http://gregmankiw.blogspot.com/2012/10/john-taylor-versus-paul-krugman.html. Now both you and Krugman have responded (http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/) and the likelihood of Mankiw updating his links is about .01 (unless of course Taylor responds again).
Also see: http://gregmankiw.blogspot.com/2012/09/mankiw-vs-delong-and-krugman-on-ceas.html
(the subject of which happened to be completely off base - http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/24/maybe-another-economist-with-the-same-name/)
But yes, on other topics Mankiw definitely tends to be more silent.- Anonymous9:11 AM
In what sense is Krugman an economist with political leanings? He has been heavily critical of the Obama administration. My interpretation is that his 'political' statements are driven by his economic beliefs, whereas with people like Taylor and Mankiw it's the other way round.
Delete "Very amusing to see Krugman (or all people) complain about politics hurting economics."
Who's been more right for the past few years than Krugman?
- Anonymous11:51 PM
What about Mankiw? He is one of the most respected macroeconomists around. Why isn't he participating more actively in these debates? We all know his political preferences, but we still would like to know what he thinks as an economist about all this. He contents himself with referencing every once and again other people's ideas (especially if they are consistent with his apparent priors) but he does not seem to be thinking hard about these issues.
ReplyDeleteReplies- Anonymous3:38 AM
Mankiw is in a really weird spot.
On one hand, the campaign he is the chief economics adviser to is basically incoherent on economics. Lurching from embracing the gold standard to embracing military Keyensianism to trade wars to magical budgets that will be budgeted with secret provisions to 'no i wont cut spending in my first year because that will be a blow to the economy' to 'i will create 14 million new jobs!'.
On the other hand, maybe all the 'technocratic' Republicans believe they need to be okay with this because their party's base is just too barbaric to understand basic economics and so you need to micro-target specific issues for specific districts which makes the incoherence understandable and excusable because presumably once in power Romney would actually do technocratic stuff as his past of being a relatively rational guy seems to suggest. I think we can take our cue as to whether Romney will be technocratic on the economy -- or anything else -- from the Boca Raton speech.
There he said that the economy will fix itself basically if anyone is elected. No technocratic claims there.
And the Arab-Israeli problem would NOT fix itself no matter who was elected. No aspiring technocrat there.
Finally, look at his performance on the recent troubles in the Middle East. Rushing out with a polarizing politicization of the situation even while the incident was still going on in Egypt. Hardly a technocrat. Just a smarmy opportunist who made even Mitch McConnell and John Boehner look statesmanlike at the time.
Technocrats, for all their other failings, are about what they perceive to be the common good. Romney is about Romney, nothing more, nothing less.
Very good post. I agree with you about good empirical work. But I think that one those who is convinced by RR has made a good out of sample prediction. That would be Paul Krugman who argued in 2008 that fiscal stimulus was a good idea, because the recession was a financial crisis recession and likely to be U shaped not V shaped.
not the link I was after (probably an op ed not in the blog) but come on, don't you remember ? We are out of Krugman's sample and he nailed it.
Also I disagree with the hope that economists not advise candidates. For economics to make the world a better place first it has to become a science and second economists have to influence policy. There is no way policy makers will allow people who weren't with them when they were candidates into their inner circles.
Also campaign advisers can refuse to lie. I recall 2008 when Obama was arguing that health care reform without a mandate was possible (he was lying). A reporter tried to get David Cutler to express an opinion on the topic -- that is to lie or to get summarily fired from the Obama campaign. Cutler just didn't answer the question. Not a graceful dodge just stubborn refusal. That was not like Taylor (course then he just went back to Harvard so who cares and maybe the refusal to lie got him expelled even when the claim that a mandate was not needed was "inoperative" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Ziegler).
Again not the link I was after but I think Cutler fairly honest in a tight spot (and talking with an interviewer who believed what Cutler had to avoid explicitly contradicting)
Totally frank ? Of course not, but not like Taylor at all. It can be done (it helps that Cutler is very smart and *very* self disciplined).- Alan Goldhammer7:40 AM
Good post outlining the key issues. With respect to the political issues (which I know more about than the economics ones as I'm just a poor chemist by training; maybe not so poor these days), it's worth noting that Taylor, Mankiw, and the non-mentioned Hubbard were all economic policy advisers in the Bush-2 White House and must have at one point or another sanctioned all the economic policies that dug this deep hole. I have yet to hear an apology for this.
ReplyDelete Noah:
1. Excellent comments about John Taylor
2. You should not have used the word science in connection with either paper, for neither comes close to being science
3. The Michael Bordo & Joseph Haubrich paper is bunk, wholly lacking in any micro-foundations. I can only think of two relationships between our current economy and our economy pre-synthetic CDOs: (1) it is taking place in the same physical space and (2) by statute we use the same unit of measurement, the dollar.
4. You post is very useful for making it plain that macroeconomics is a failed science because it hasn't learned how to cast out of the temple people who sell "bunk"
The reason that it has failed is that in large part it has no measures for how much damage was done to the economy by the explosion of the synthetic weapons of mass economic destruction (using Munger's metaphor).
If the crisis had been a forest fire that burned millions of acres, we could calculate that it will take so long to re-plant the trees and so much longer for them to grow to a height where they could be harvested. Look at auto mfg. The damage to GM and Chrysler and Ford and their suppliers was near total. Look at banking. The damage was near total. First, because TARP wasn't used to just restore capital. Second, because the 40% loss in home equity destroyed the ability of community commercial banks, which do most small business lending, to lend using seconds which was their primary means of doing business.
This fault has really hurt Obama. No one has provided him with the facts with which to paint word pictures about how much work he had to do.- OGT9:40 AM
Good post. Though I am not so sure people know how to discount the writing of a respected economist working for a candidate or administration. And if that's the public's primary exposure to economists I suspect it does real damage to the field.
On B-H's work I think not adjusting the recoveries on a per capita basis is nearly unforgivable in terms of being something any undergrad could easily grasp. Adjusting by working age population is even better (and really changes the story in Japan's case). Nice discussion. It seems that John Taylor has tried to address the R&R critique as well as Paul Krugman's post:
Funny thing - Taylor is ignoring your post. And of course Greg Mankiw who endorsed this Taylor reply is also ignoring your post. But then did we expect an honest debate from a former economist turned politician?Replies- Alan Goldhammer12:38 PM
Quite right. The problem is that Taylor is accepting of alternative explanations without really digging down into the facts of the case. I remember the 1973 and 1981 recessions and to classify these as having a 'major' financial component is incorrect. Any financial component was at best minor.
Now I have not read Taylor's self published book that he mentions in his blog (self published because he works at the institution that published it; kind of like blogging, correct?) even though it's available at a Kindle fire-sale price. I'm unsure that he is a reliable commenter on this given the blurb about the book (maybe he is as credible as Wallinson and Pinto on the origins of the housing bubble).
Noah, love you blog, but just wondering why we shouldn't take Taylor serious, but should Krugman? While Taylor actively plays for Team Romney, isn't Krugman an active player for Team Democrat? While he's not working for a specific candidate, a significant portion of his writing is politically colored? Why the distinction?
ReplyDeleteRepliesProbably because Krugman routinely criticizes the Democrats and calls them out when they say things that are incorrect. From the beginning he has complained endlessly about the size of the stimulus and Obama's premature pivot to focusing on the deficit.
On the other hand, Taylor is supporting a nonexistent plan by Romney and pretending that Fed induced recessions were actually financial crises.- Anonymous12:27 AM
Krugman does not cherry pick numbers in his models to make his side look good. Krugman grew up as somebody wanting to understand how things work, relatively free of any swinging axes. What makes him look ideological is the near total infestation of politics in a large swath of modern policy makers. Krugman is a reaction to Taylorism, not the thing itself.
Last week we had economic shills explaining the reasonablness of Romney tax proposals. Turns out all you have to do is something very different from what was proposed and it`s like falling off a log. Now we suddenly have a deep interest in only the recovery and can`t imagine why anybody would be interested in the size of the fall. The hackery isn`t quite as breathtaking as the obviousness of it. True hacks don`t work that hard because the point is only to confuse the majority with a reasonable sounding story. I don`t think Krugman is a hack because he tries too hard to be plausible in his arguments. "...isn't Krugman an active player for Team Democrat? While he's not working for a specific candidate, a significant portion of his writing is politically colored? Why the distinction?"
Because he's right. I understand that in partisan politics, that doesn't matter, but I'd hope that it would in economics, as a science.
- JohnR12:44 PM
"People know to take that into account when reading what he writes, and Taylor knows they take it into account."
I think you're a bit too deep in the forest, here, Noah, and more than a bit over-optimistic. Most of the people at whom that kind of flim-flammery is aimed will not know any better. They'll see "respected economist" and assume that what he is saying is respectable economics instead of bald-faced campaign-mode selective truthiness. Personally, when it comes to peddling misinformation for pay, I think respect for your chosen field might over-rule 'just following orders', but then of course real science is full of examples of researchers setting their integrity aside when it comes to significant monetary or political rewards. I suppose Taylor is counting on the understanding that the "smoking is good for you!" and "global warming is a myth!" scientists haven't seen any sort of professional consequences from their decision to pimp out their credentials. He's probably right, and this will all be gladly forgotten by those economists who know better, perhaps following a few formal mea culpas for his "simple misunderstanding which he now sincerely regrets!" - Anonymous1:35 PM
I won't listen to John Taylor because he's politically biased. Instead, I'll only listen to Paul Krugman.
ReplyDeleteReplies- Lord2:11 PM
You would do well to do so. Krugman relies on the evidence and explicit models even when to do otherwise would be convenient. Krugman for example has disputed inequality as the cause of our situation and he has often been critical of Democrats including Obama. You may not hold the same values, but you should respect reality and honesty.
Noah, love you blog, but just wondering why we shouldn't take Taylor serious, but should Krugman? While Taylor actively plays for Team Romney, isn't Krugman an active player for Team Democrat? While he's not working for a specific candidate, a significant portion of his writing is politically colored? Why the distinction?
Well, there is a difference...Krugman is not employed by Obama. Biases and conflicts of interest are two different things.
But yes, you should always take bias into account when deciding how much to take anyone's claims at face value. If you think there's bias, just do more digging, and see for yourself. That's the rationalist approach.Replies- Alan Goldhammer2:26 PM
More often than not, Krugman presents data on his blog to support either his opinion or to argue against others. The FRED database is the great leveler in all of this and FWIW, I seldom see Conservative bloggers making any use of it at all. If Economics want to be taken seriously, it needs to focus on the data and what can either be proven or disproven by it. Though as a chemist speaking to a one time physicist, I think you know that. :-)
- Anonymous2:31 PM
Here are 8 of the past 10 posts or columns by Paul Krugman. I don't see how anyone can claim that Krugman is less partisan than John Taylor.
Snow Job on Jobs
Mitt Romney says he has a plan that would create millions of jobs. It's a five-point plan to nowhere.
Death By Ideology
Despite what Mitt Romney says, the lack of health insurance does kill people.
Triumph of the Wrong?
Politically good things may be about to happen to very bad ideas.
Truth About Jobs
The data show an improving economy, and that's what the right wing can't handle.
Romney's Sick Joke
Mitt Romney's claim that pre-existing conditions are covered under his health plan was his biggest of many misleading statements in Wednesday's debate.
Understanding Romneynomics
Personal awesomeness to the rescue.
Small-Time Mitt
A plucky little startup, financed by Latin oligarchs.
Itsy Bitsy Bain
Mitt Romney, mom-and-pop business owner.RepliesI don't see how anyone can claim that Krugman is less partisan than John Taylor.
The question is, what does it mean to be partisan? Krugman has written a lot of posts criticizing Obama. Taylor has never, to my knowledge, written any that criticize Romney or any other Republican.
I think there is a difference between ideology and partisanship...- Anonymous3:33 PM
So do you determine partisanship as a relative measure? For example, trying to parse your argument, if I write 10 articles condemning Democrats I am branded "partisan," but I am merely "ideological" if I write 10 articles lauding Democrats but additionally pen 10 articles condemning some Democratic individual arguing he is not liberal enough?
Merriam-Webster defines "ideology" as:
(1) visionary theorizing or
(2)(a) a systematic body of concepts especially about human life or culture, (b) a manner or the content of thinking characteristic of an individual, group, or culture, and (c) the integrated assertions, theories and aims that constitute a sociopolitical program.
"Partisan" is defined as "a firm adherent to a party, faction, cause, or person; especially: one exhibiting blind, prejudiced, and unreasoning allegiance."
If we're arguing about the appropriate designations, I'm not sure that Taylor and Krugman are distinguishable under these definitions, particularly "partisan." We can certainly debate the degree to which the second clause of "partisan" applies—I'm guessing that calculation will depend significantly upon one's ideological proclivities—but both Taylor and Krugman are firm adherents to a party, faction, cause, or person (especially in the context of the presidential election). Claiming Krugman is merely ideological while Taylor is partisan rings hollow. You don't see any difference when an economist is working for a candidate currently running for office? You think that fact is entirely irrelevant and beside the point? Well, I guess if so, I can't really convince you otherwise...
But in any case, I think this is a bit beside the point. The point is, B&H's argument is worth engaging regardless of the partisan proclivities of the people who promote and disparage the argument on their blogs. So in this post I tried to engage their analysis in an intellectually honest manner...- Lord4:43 PM
Krugman opposing Romney's policies or lack thereof doesn't make him partisan, only opinionated. Where is the error in anything he wrote? Where is the evidence that he ignored in coming to his judgment? You may not like his values. You may object to his selection of data. You may find his models insufficient. Does he bend these to support Obama? No, and that is the primary difference. He holds them up and finds both wanting, but Romney above and beyond all. Taylor can't do this and expect to keep his position and so doesn't. Is it what he believes or what he finds convenient? Probably both as he doesn't seem curious enough about the data to recognize its shortcomings.
Delete - Phil Koop5:00 PM
Look, when you say that "[Taylor] is not being a scientist right now, he is being a politician", you are saying that Taylor is writing for political expediency things that he himself does not believe. No matter how wrong Krugman may be about your favorite point, if you think that he is being wrong on purpose, you just aren't reading very well.
On the other hand, I don't think that employment is the acid test. Brad DeLong has responded to this post, and as puts it: "As more than two former cabinet-level appointees have asked me about Taylor: 'Why is he doing this? I wouldn't have done that. I wouldn't do that.'" - Anonymous5:08 PM
Yes, I do think that political affiliation is relevant, but I don't think that it is determinative. I believe that an economist—or a volunteer, or a political strategist, or a pollster, etc…—can be affiliated or employed by a campaign and not abandon his or her ideological foundation and principles and ability to constructively contribute to a worthwhile debate. Conversely, I think that an economist can not be employed by a campaign but can still display an extraordinary level of commitment to that campaign, and can be partisan. My point is that the mere fact that Taylor (or any other economist) is affiliated with a campaign should not discredit his intellectual contributions with a branding of being "partisan," especially if another individual's work is artificially elevated as a result. I very much appreciate your acknowledgement of the difference between ideology and partisanship; I just wanted to press on the way it was applied to the Taylor/Krugman comparison. Underestimating the validity of an argument by letting it be colored by partisan affiliation is a disservice to the broader debate, no matter which side you support. I would rather an argument be distinguished based on merit rather than on a false dichotomy that artificially diminishes based on assigning the pejorative label "partisan." "Here are 8 of the past 10 posts or columns by Paul Krugman. I don't see how anyone can claim that Krugman is less partisan than John Taylor."
Simple - is Krugman or Taylor more correct?Here are 8 of the past 10 posts or columns by Paul Krugman. I don't see how anyone can claim that Krugman is less partisan than John Taylor.
This is nonsense. What Krugman relies on are facts and data - you know that reality which, as it turns out, has a liberal bias.
Krugman and I have walked very similar paths. In the 90's we were both almost 100% apolitical. What got him politicized was the outright economic stupidity of the Bush administration, which, unfortunately, some famous former economists signed on with (or, rather, sold out to.) Similarly, the Bush admin. radicalized me, although it started with the ridiculous Clinton impeachment.
What you are proposing, anon, is a blatantly false equivalence.
- Anonymous2:49 PM
Warren Buffett said he likes recessions because when the tide goes out it reveals who is wearing no pants. Is it better in the long run to let the creative destruction of the pantless happen, instead of protecting them by trying to prevent the tide from going out?
Austrians say the pantless must be wiped out and find some pants, or bad money will chase out good in the long run. Keyensians say the pantless are an important source of demand for GDP and we must try to keep the tide from going out at all costs.
I now return you to your torturing the data until it complies with your biases.Replies- Anonymous9:57 AM
Morality has nothing to do with it. "Positive cash flow" is not virtue, it's just economic viability. The "pantless" are those sustained by credit alone.
Solyndra created a $500M crater. Would it have been better that it get more credit and later blow a $1B crater? $100B? $10T? Even when you say a country is a "closed world", its bankruptcy released $500M of credit and assets to those who can put it to more efficient use, maybe a better solar panel maker. - Ryan9:56 PM
If the tide was beginning to drop unexpectedly, I'd be at least somewhat concerned about a incoming tsunami. A wall of water ten feet tall or higher does not discriminate between those wearing pants and those not wearing pants. Also, just to strain the metaphor even further, carrying gold around in one's pants is not a survival strategy in the event of a tsunami.
@anon2, to bring this back to the real world, the factories that Solyndra sold off at bankruptcy, were designed to produce Copper-Indium-Gallium-Selenium (CIGS) solar panels. I doubt that once Solyndra's assets were sold at auction as lots that (a)$500M was generated, (b)anyone actually manufactured solar panels with their newly acquired equipment, and (c)that all of Solyndra's manufacturing equipment was of some value to others.
I can also be nearly certain Solyndra, or a contractor programmed computer code to operate the machinery in their factory. I doubt very much any of this code has any sort of use or value outside Solyndra. Money certainly went into writing the code, but if no one can use the code for anything, of what value is it? I suppose one could try to learn more about how to manufacture CIGS panels, and really only CIGS panels, but CIGS panels remain uneconomical to produce, so what is the value of this code?
Yes, let's measure based on recovery:
You break your leg. Ten years ago, you sprained your ankle. Comparing your mobility at the time of the ankle sprain to your mobility three weeks later, you have a minor improvement.
Comparing when your leg was broken to your mobility three weeks later (while still in a cast), you have improved much more than you did since the ankle sprain.
Clearly, one should prefer the recovery from the broken leg. Just ask B&H (or John Taylor).- Anonymous4:05 PM
Noah, a splendid post, as always, but Robert's query has traction. Why fear "datamining" in dealing with historical events that approach uniqueness more closely than they resemble a large n of widgets? Krugman seems to have gotten even the mechanisms underlying his predictions correct. If he did it with case-oriented historical comparison rather than with unaided statistical reasoning, so much the better for the former, eh? If the phenomena of depressions are more like those of wars than like those of rows of corn, then why are statistical scruples relevant? Do they not distract us from the very patterns in experience that show us what is happening?
ReplyDelete - Anonymous5:15 PM
About Krugman (and Cochrane) v Taylor-- you can't trust economists about politically-charged economic questions when they are dependent on candidates. Krugman criticises Obama's economic policies rather often. Has Taylor written analogous critiques of Romney's economic policies? Krugman was clear about the policies that Obama and Bernanke should follow, when neither were doing it. Is there an analogous Taylor economic vision that he believes Romney ought to follow, no matter what Romney plans to do? Krugman is independent of Obama, though partisan, just as Cochrane was in opposing the stimulus; Taylor is not independent of Romney, and given his knowledge of economics and passion for public affairs, his silence shows it. The serious question is-- why is there no analogously independent and responsible Krugman counterpart somewhere in the conservative media with a similar record of predictive success who can also use FRED etc intelligently to comment on politics and the economy from the data? And, more importantly, what would s/he recommend to America, the UK, and the Eurozone, if s/he existed? The right field is empty.
ReplyDelete - Anonymous6:11 PM
Noah, tell me just one Krugman paper, and 2 or 3 sentences, why you think it is good.
I am still looking for one single economists, who can do that.RepliesGladly:
This paper is so badass. It microfounds the idea of agglomeration (or clustering) and basically provides a rationale for cities to exist. The model can easily replicate the Zipf distribution of city sizes that is found in most countries, as well as the "agglomeration shadow" effect that explains why it is very difficult for cities to form between two existing major cities. In addition, it can explain why rapidly growing cities whose growth is interrupted by a war or disaster tend to resume rapid growth, while stagnant cities tend to shrink semi-permanently after disasters.- Anonymous1:23 PM
Are we reading the same paper? It does not mention any Zipf law, it contains no city size, nor a distribution of it.
Furthermore Krugman admits in Journal of Japanese and International Economies 10,399 (1996)
"In large part this is a report of failure— that is, while there must be a compelling explanation of the astonishing
empirical regularity in question, I have not found it."
That he essentially doesnt get beyond
SIMON, H. (1955), On a class of skew distribution functions, Biometrika.
Maybe you give it another try with my question? Are we reading the same paper? It does not mention any Zipf law, it contains no city size, nor a distribution of it.
No, but the model is capable of reproducing the Zipf distribution. For a demonstration of that and an explanation of why it works, see this book:
I was not aware of the quote you cite, but apparently later Fujita figured it out (in fact I know Fujita, and he mentioned this once). It does work.
Maybe you give it another try with my question?
Nope, won't be necessary...- Anonymous3:23 PM
Come on,
Krugman 1991 talks transport costs, production functions and wages, and city sizes or any random process for founding a new city is not mentioned.
Krugman 1996 just reproduces the Simon 1955 derivation for zipfs law from this random process only, no costs of any kind, there is zero additional, original thought.
What are you reading? It cant be your Krugman 1991 reference. Krugman (1991) lays down the basic idea. More advanced versions of the theory - which incorporate things like random processes for founding new cities - all rely, fundamentally, on the agglomeration process detailed in Krugman (1991). The paper contains a deep theoretical insight that ends up being empirically useful. I'd say that that is a highly successful paper.
Delete- Anonymous6:05 PM
Krugman 1991 talks about transport costs as a driving factor, and in a regime 33 - 100 % price adder, which is way to high, further as a discriminator between core and periphery, whereas in reality it does not matter where it goes, because the loading / unloading is most of it.
The mechanism leading to the agglomeration is completely different, independent of any costs, was found by Simon first, and merely repeated by Krugman 1996, works completely independent of the 1991 paper. The empirical fact was long known before any theory, so theory is not useful here.
But apparently the 1991 paper was very successful with other economists.
Do you really have nothing better than this for why some economists admire that Krugman so much ? Krugman 1991 talks about transport costs as a driving factor
Actually, it gets more interesting. Using Krugman's setup, Fujita proves that as transport costs fall, there is a U-shaped pattern in overall agglomeration. Meaning that for low enough transport costs, urbanization actually reverses!
and in a regime 33 - 100 % price adder, which is way to high, further as a discriminator between core and periphery, whereas in reality it does not matter where it goes, because the loading / unloading is most of it.
I'm sorry, I don't understand what this means. Can you explain a little more clearly?
The mechanism leading to the agglomeration is completely different, independent of any costs, was found by Simon first, and merely repeated by Krugman 1996, works completely independent of the 1991 paper. The empirical fact was long known before any theory, so theory is not useful here.
I'm not sure this is true...I'll have to check out the Simon paper. Do you have a link or title for that paper?
Do you really have nothing better than this for why some economists admire that Krugman so much ?
This is one of the two theories that won him a Nobel prize. The other is "new trade theory".@noah
1. Your "Actually, it gets more interesting."
Very Good !
2. With regard to the Simon Paper:
Adding to the reference given above Volume and page numbers
"SIMON, H. (1955), On a class of skew distribution functions, Biometrika."
42, 425 – 440
Ill got it from my library server, some 500 km away.. It was easy to find without volume and page numbers. You shouldn't have any difficulties to find that on yours. BTW, do you have free access to NBER papers?
3. "and in a regime 33 - 100 % price adder"
"Only tau of manufactured goods arrive", a somewhat weird way to describe transport costs. In my Germany goods don't "fall of the lorry" and transportation is billed. A tau of 0.5 means 1/(1-tau) = 100 % transportation costs on top of the price of the manufactured. Understandable ?
In general, transportation costs are low nowadays (3- 10%, and weakly dependent on distance), my milk and butter come typically from 500 km away, tomatoes, bananas from 1000 – 10000 km, and manufactured goods from (smartphones, coffee machines at 13 Euro, etc) all over the world, with practically zero difference between the heart of cities like Berlin, Paris, London, and any other tiny village in this land. Food and similar stuff cost exactly the same at any discounter like ALDI and LIDL in ANY place. And so do most service I use, medical, lawyer, hair cutter.
One could even make the case that agriculture transport is more expensive, since it requires cooling, has some time constraints, in contrast to manufactured goods. And I consume a lot more food in volume and weight than manufactured stuff. And the boundaries between them are very blurred today.
Even the biggest cities today and back in 1991 don't produce a significant number of manufactured goods locally.
In stark contrast to the hyper simplified assumption of Krugman: Zero transport cost for agriculture, and transport for manufactured goods the governing factor.
4. Fujita, M
I got his 1999 book "The spatial economy" together with his 1989 "Urban Economic Theory" from my local 5 km university library. I assume that is good enough reference for you and most people here. Please tell me otherwise.
Starting to work through them. At the very first glance, not so exciting. The 2001 edition page 220, Simon as "extremely nihilistic and simplistic"?
Huugh, its an accurate description, Krugman just copied, and is at least admitting to have problems with to accept (something I like in people)
Fujita's assessment of basic theory (Chapter one of 1999 edition) looks pretty similar to my spreadsheet for choosing my present location, except mine was more detailed and quantitative. Transport costs a minor role, transport time way more important, environment and access too. At a very first glance.
5. second one of Krugman's Nobel papers.
Maybe you start calling and defending it as well ? Would be very interesting for me. How about we play a little game here, like Feyerabend and Lakatos, I am the aggressor/ advocatus diaboli, and you the defender of present day anglo macroeconomics, in contrast to our beloved Ordnungspolitik : - ). But lets stick with krugmans papers here. I ll might get to understand where my blind spots may be, and you can be the young hero, defending the economist establishment, against some old shop floor engineer? If you can that : - ) You could score lots of points with future employers !
Some reflections...
1) I haven't taken anything John Taylor has written or said seriously in a very long time. This is mostly because I have long since reached the conclusion that he's much more interested in winning arguments (and elections) than in seeking the truth.
2) I have major doubts about Reinhart and Rogoff's work. Take their paper on public debt overhangs from April for example:
I came away thinking (counter to R&R's conclusion) that the primary cause of public debt leverage in advanced economies, and the associated slow economic growth, is war (the Napoleonic Wars, the Belgian-Dutch War, the Third Carlist Wars, the Franco-Prussian War, WW I, WW II, the Greek Civil War, etc.) War tends to raise the debt numerator and reduce the GDP denominator. And in my opinion slow economic growth naturally follows as a result of postwar devastation and/or disarmament.
3) I also have major doubts about Michael Bordo's work. Take his paper on inequality and financial crises from March for example:
Granted there are flaws with his major argument, but in my opinion his most glaring elementary error is his claim that nominal interest rates are a good measure of monetary policy stance. After all nominal interest rates were very low in the contractionary part of the Great Depression and were very high in the inflationary 1970s, and yet no one is seriously making the claim that monetary policy was loose in the Depression and tight under Arthur Burns.
(Ironically Bordo uses a credit variable developed by Moritz Schularick and Alan Taylor (the "good" Taylor) but in his most recent paper reaches starkly different conclusions from them.)4) So, what about this latest tiff?
Well, R&R's definition of financial crisis mostly deals with things that aren't relevant to the US Great Recession. They identify five kinds of financial crisis: 1) external sovereign default, 2) domestic sovereign default, 3) exchange rate crisis, 4) inflation crisis and 5) banking crisis. Thus their definition of financial crisis is primarily focused on issues involving public debt (exchange rate crisis and inflation crises can be a form of sovereign default), and the most serious crises nearly always involve current account reversals. The US Great Recession may have boosted public debt levels, but even R&R classify it only as a banking crisis, and if anything the global financial crisis has led to an inflow of foreign capital seeking safety. Furthermore, only a small fraction of the cases examined by R&R are banking crisis involving high income countries under high capital mobility. Thus it's not clear to me how relevant most of R&R's research is to the US Great Recession.
Bordo doesn't waste much breath on explaining how he classified the episodes he studies as financial crises. Most people don't think of the 1974 and 1982 recession as financial crisis so this came as a surprise to me as well. Bordo cites a paper by David Lopez-Salido and Edward Nelson:
On first glance Lopez-Salido and Nelson's evidence seems weak but it had me going back to R&R and I realized that R&R's evidence actually seems even thinner. R&R define a bank crisis as the "closure, merging, takeover or large scale government assistance of an important financial institution", which quite frankly is vague, and depending on one's criteria threshold, could easily be true of the 1974 and 1982 recessions (see Lopez-Salido and Nelson for more information).
This morning I noticed Krugman referring to credit spreads in his blog in the context of this debate:
And that had me thinking, what a great idea, let's see what the credit spreads looked like in 1974 and 1982:
By that criterion the 1974 and 1982 recessions are only slightly behind the Great Recession and well ahead of the Savings and Loan Crisis, which is classified as a financial crisis by R&R, as "financial crises" go. And for what it's worth, in terms of actual bank closings, while there were 157 in 2010, at 119, there were almost as many in 1982.
5) The bottom line is, I'm not sure R&R's research is all that relevant to the US Great Recession. So if you restrict yourself to US financial crises, even limiting yourself to R&R's list, the current recovery is weak even correcting for trend (I've looked at this in terms of both NGDP and RGDP). And if you include the 1974 and 1982 recession, which is not as an outrageous idea as I initially thought, it looks even worse. More importantly, I'm not even sure what the direction of causality from recession to financial crises is, provided one can even agree on an appropriate definition of "financial crisis" with respect to the US.
I've always felt that what has made the current recession so bad are the poor monetary, fiscal and regulatory policies that led to it, and the poor policy responses to it. In my opinion the evocation of R&R's "This Time is Different" has almost always been simply an excuse to do nothing. In the final analysis the Taylor exploitation of this debate is an election year distraction from an honest discussion of what constitutes better macroeconomic policy.- Anonymous8:48 PM
I would like to know how somone can be respectable, the sort of person who you wouldn't be embarassed to be seen with, and still rape students with overcharged text books (mankiw, krugman....)
their is something obscene about these multimillionaire "academics" who make poor students pay so muc for textbooks - Anonymous11:07 PM
Thought from a non-economist: I will use the currency as my parameter for recovery. If I devalue it enough I should be able to show a strong recovery in per capita gdp. The fact they can't buy coffee will be irrelevant. It seems arrogant to me to be defining this current recovery when we have no idea what the effects will be on the $ five years from now. If it only is devalued 8% in five years we can say it wasn't to bad. If it's 80%....am I missing something?
ReplyDelete I was a little grumpy with my wording, sorry
1. In the meanwhile I have read Fujita, Krugman, Venables, and I am less than impressed. I do not find a single plot where they compare their extremely simplified models to real world data. And I see this as extremely typical for the "pattern Krugman" PK.
2. I am actually interested in discussing some more papers, either of Krugman, but also some, Krugman gave glowing references, e.g. some 1992 Singapore vs Hong Kong, and Cobb-Douglas, Solow 1957, which , to my understanding have grave mechanical flaws, rendering the results invalid. Are you interested or do you know by chance people / blogs, where people read, analyze, understand , and then discuss economic papers? I may be just some old engineer, but I have about 90 papers and patents, close to 1000 citations, and a recent GMAT in the upper 3% of my age bracket : - ) Could be interesting for folks, who spend their whole live so far in academia. Curious.


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Identifying and Correcting Blocked Learning Gates
- Dianne Craft, MA, CNHP Crosswalk Contributor
- Published Feb 22, 2013
Are you working at home with a bright, hardworking child or teenager who has to work too hard to learn? This is the child who does not respond to all the other curricula or materials and teaching strategies that have worked so well with your other children. In fact, you may be on your fourth reading/phonics program, your third math program, and on your fourth spelling program, if you have not already given up on spelling with this child. If it is your first child who is struggling, you may now have a younger sibling who is yelling out the words from the corner of the room. That's when you decide that "something is up" with this child. You wonder if this child has a processing problem, a learning disability, or dyslexia. You are puzzled, because orally, he/she is so good in many things, and loves to listen to stories. What is going on?
According to Dr. Mel Levine, M.D., in his book, A Mind at a Time, all learning requires energy. He refers to it as "battery energy." I like this term. It clearly describes what we see happening with the struggling learner. This child is using way too much battery energy to write or remember sight words or phonics for reading. We see the battery drain happen before our eyes. Our question is, why is this child having to work so hard at things that should not take so much energy to learn or remember? It is generally because one or more of the child's four "learning gates" are blocked. We think of these learning gates as information pathways. The children who learn easily seem "smart" because they don't have any major blocks in their information pathways. Our struggling learner may have many blocks. When we speak of a blocked learning gate, we mean that the processing skill has not transferred into the automatic brain hemisphere. The child continues to need to concentrate on the processing task because of this lack of transfer.
Let's explore these four learning gates. As you look at the list of characteristics of a struggling learner, it is important to remember that many children have one characteristic but aren't struggling. Conversely, a child does not need to display all of the characteristics to qualify as a struggling learner.
1. Visual Processing Gate
The act of moving the eyes over a page from left to right is not a naturally developed trait. For example, in Israel they read right to left, and in Japan they read in a column. This is a process that we teach when a child is first learning to read, usually by having him track with his finger across the page to train his eyes to move in this fashion. After some practice, this should transfer to the child's automatic hemisphere. How do we know if this process has not transferred and is taking too much energy? These are some of the characteristics this child will exhibit:
- Reading reversals (on = no; was = saw . . . after age 7)
- Skipping of little words, but can read longer word
- Reading begins smooth, but soon becomes labored
- Older child who can read, but tires easily . . . yawning shortly after beginning reading
2. Writing Processing Gate
When the child's visual/spatial skills or the act of writing haven't transferred into the automatic hemisphere, he often looks like he's sloppy, lazy, or unmotivated. His papers are poorly spaced, or he refuses to write much of anything for the parent. This is the most common learning gate that is blocked in gifted children. It seems like they are "allergic to a pencil." Transferring his thoughts into writing, or just copying something, takes a huge amount of battery energy for this child. Characteristics include these:
- Frequent or occasional reversals in letters after age 7 (even if only "once in a while")
- Copying is laborious
- Poor spacing in math papers
- Great stories orally, but writes very little
- Does mental math to avoid writing
3. Auditory Processing Gate
A common myth about auditory processing is reflected in this statement: "My child has an auditory processing problem because he can't remember three directions at once." This is likely more of a focusing/attention issue. For example, if we would ask him to "go into the kitchen and get a candy bar, a glass of chocolate milk, and a dish of ice cream for yourself," the child would likely remember these directions.
A child who is suffering with an auditory processing problem generally has trouble with reading. Common characteristics include these:
- Phonics sounds don't stick, no matter how many games you have played
- Sight words are hard to memorize—even learning alphabet letter names can be hard
- Sounds out same word over and over in a story
- Can't easily sequence sounds, like months of the year or skip counting
- Is a "word guesser"
- No phonetic pattern to spelling—doesn't hear consonants, e.g., Thursday is Thesday
4. Focus/Attention Gate
This can be the most puzzling blocked learning gate to identify. A child may look like he has no memory, or a true learning disability, when what is really going on is that this child has to use too much battery energy to remain focused during the instruction or completion of the lesson. The child may look like he is "paying attention" to your lesson, giving you good eye contact; however, in his head, he is two doors down, playing with his friend or playing in the dinosaur village. Here are some characteristics of a child who has to use too much battery energy to remain focused:
- Inconsistency in performance from one day to another
- Needs to have someone sit with him to finish work
- Forgets previously learned work much of the time—seems to have a "memory" problem
- Can have impulsive behavior—easily getting upset when things go wrong
- Sensory processing problems (little things bother him a lot, like tags on shirts, loud noises, transitions, foods, etc.)
Be assured that you do not need to be an expert or professional to make learning easier for your child at home. In the upcoming columns for The Struggling Homeschooler, I will discuss each learning gate individually and show you the corrections that I developed as I taught these wonderful children in my special education classes. You will see that it is not hard to do. It just requires some tools, strategies, and techniques that you may not be familiar with right now.
Bottom line: Learning does not have to be so hard for your child. God has many wonderful answers for our children. He gives us insight and understanding into our children's learning struggles when we ask Him! (2 Timothy 2:7)
Questions? Email Dianne short questions at: email@example.com.
Dianne Craft has a master's degree in learning disabilities. She speaks widely at homeschool conventions across the country. Her books, Brain Integration Therapy Manual, Right Brain Phonics Program, and her DVDs, Understanding & Helping the Struggling Learner, Teaching the Right Brain Child, Smart Kids—Who Hate to Write, and The Biology of Behavior have helped hundreds of families remove learning blocks in their struggling children at home. Visit her website, www.diannecraft.org, for many articles on children and learning and to download her free Daily Lesson Plans for the Struggling Reader and Writer.
Copyright 2012, used with permission. All rights reserved by author. Originally appeared in the March 2012 issue of The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, the family education magazine. Read the magazine free at www.TOSMagazine.com or read it on the go and download the free apps at www.TOSApps.com to read the magazine on your mobile devices.
Publication date: February 27, 2013


text:
The Alliance for Climate Protection, Al Gore's group, has taken another step toward promoting plug-in cars (all electric cars and plug-in hybrids) with its RePower America campaign. They've got the budget to really move the national conversation about the future of cars away from the well-funded distractions of hydrogen, fuel cells, natural gas and ethanol. Let's hope Al Gore's been saying as much to President Obama (doesn't that sound great!)
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
4 comments:
I just saw this ad air on Meet the Press on today. It's great that plug-ins are getting their due even if the economy doesn't favor them.
- January 25, 2009 at 1:49:00 PM PST
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- August 21, 2009 at 10:54:00 PM PDT
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I hope for the day when Plug-ins will be completely favored by the economy. Might be a dream right now but maybe later, things will work for them. Great blog too.
- April 23, 2013 at 1:49:00 AM PDT
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text:
"About 120 protesters outside Mullingar station Ming Flanagan, Maura Harrington, etc. Supporting McCabe. M" - Ex-Garda Commissioner Callinan
"You can judge a man by his friends" Brian Purcell - SG of Dept of Justice
"Some shower Brian" Callinan
You can get in contact with a local Shell to Sea group in by contacting any of the e-mail addresses below. Many of the groups have regular meetings. At the meetings we discuss how we can help the campaign, we organise public actions and demos and media work etc. Its always great to have new people with new ideas getting involved and you don't have to have ever been involved in anything else before.
Mayo: mayoshelltosea at gmail.com
Shell to Sea spokespeople - Terence Conway 086 086 6264
- Maura Harrington 087 959 1474
Rossport Solidarity Camp: rossportsolidaritycamp AT gmail.com
phone: 0851141170
Dublin: dublins2s AT gmail.com
phone: 086 736 2417
Cork: corkshelltosea AT gmail.com
Galway: galwayshell2sea AT gmail.com
Belfast: shelltoseabelfast AT gmail.com
Clare: clareshelltosea at gmail.com
Gort: shelltoseagort at gmail.com
Wexford: shelltoseawexford at gmail.com
Castleblayney: castleblayneyshelltosea AT gmail.com
Shell to Sea London: londonshelltosea at hotmail.co.uk
Shell to Sea Germany: www.shelltosea.de
Shell to Sea Switzerland: http://www.shelltosea.ch/
info AT shelltosea.ch


text:
Summer Graduate School
Parent Program: | -- |
Location: | Reed College, Portland, Oregon |
In the first week, the program will present the basic techniques of graphics in PostScript and Java. In the second week we expect mostly to supervise student projects and invite a few guest lecturers to cover more relaxed topics, including a few lectures on the history of mathematics in animation movies
The PostScript lectures should be accessible to everyone attending. PostScript is almost unique in making it possible for beginners to produce interesting mathematical figures right from the beginning. The lectures on Java would be aimed at an audience with more experience at programming, and in these we would hope to emphasize the importance of a good user interface. Java applets involving mathematics are common on the internet, but good interfaces are still very rare.
The main part of the program would be for the students to produce, possibly working in teams, their own graphics project to post on the Internet. In doing the projects, the students would for the most part apply what they learn from the lectures to make up a number of web pages, images, and in some cases Java applets explaining a topic largely of their own choice. Good possibilities would include recreational mathematics, like good explanations of Rubik's cube, and perhaps an explanation of Penrose tilings. Higher level projects might discuss automatic groups, various semi-combinatorial ideas of Thurston, or the visual impressions of iterations of 2D transformations.
- Jim Blinn's books of columns from his IEEE column, 'Computer Graphics and Algorithms'
- M. de Berg et al., Computational geometry, algorithms and applications
- http://www.math.ubc.ca/people/faculty/cass/graphics/text/www/ (recently submitted to Cambridge University Press)
- E. Stollnitz et al., Wavelets for computer graphics
- Any one of several books on Java programming. The on-line documentation from Sun Microsystems is also very good.
Keywords and Mathematics Subject Classification (MSC)
Primary Mathematics Subject Classification
No Primary AMS MSC
Secondary Mathematics Subject Classification
No Secondary AMS MSC


text:
Meet Our Students, Staff, & Alumni
Terez Anderson
Terez Anderson plays many roles. "I'm a professor, friend, wife and mother, and all four are important to me." A southern California native, Terez attended Golden West College in Huntington Beach, and while there discovered a love for
and public speaking. "I took an interpersonal communication course and loved it. Then I took a public speaking course, loved that as well, and decided that speech communication was going to be my major."
Terez transferred from Golden West College to Humboldt State in Northern California, which has an exceptional speech communication program. After earning a bachelor's degree, she returned to Southern California and attended San Diego State University, where she received her master's degree. "They have very good speech and communication programs. I went there for two years, really loved San Diego and so I stayed here, got married and moved to Oceanside."
During high school and college, Terez had her parents to help support her, but she was not the "average" high school or college student. She made sure to take time to prepare for the real world by focusing on excelling in school while gaining critical work experience. During her last semester at Humboldt State, Terez was a teacher's assistant. Then, while working on her master's degree at SDSU, Terez taught two classes each semester. "I never wanted to quit teaching so I worked full time in health care administration doing hospital and medical group contracting. I used a lot of my written communications in that job."
In the fall of 2003, Terez began teaching communication studies at MiraCosta College. She now teaches two to three public speaking and/or group communications classes at both MiraCosta and Palomar Colleges. When it comes to Terez's way of teaching, she says she pictures herself from the students' point of view and puts careful thought into what students want out of her courses.
"I think students want clear expectations," she said. "They want the time to go by fast, so I try to keep it interesting and entertaining, especially if it's a three-hour class that meets once a week." She explains that her expectations for students are for them to leave class having learned something they can actually take with them.
Terez has a lot of reasons to believe her students use what she teaches. She feels very humble and gratified when she receives emails at the end of the semester, or when students write nice notes on their last exam. She loves it when she runs into former students at Target and they tell her how much they liked her class, or when students tell her they had to give a surprise toast and they used what they learned. "It is so satisfying. I save all those notes in a little file, because they mean so much to me."
Those who have met Terez describe her as academic, organized, dependable and responsible. She loves being active; she has run two marathons and many half marathons, and for Mother's Day received a mountain bike. She also is fiercely dedicated to teaching. She says her influences come from her children, who are both very academic. Just as she teaches her students, she also teaches her children to take advantage of every opportunity they have to speak in front of others.
When asked what has changed since she started working at MiraCosta College in fall 2003, Terez stated that while she was always a good teacher she has become a better teacher through the use of Blackboard and by taking advantage of professional development opportunities.
"I look forward to going to work," Terez said. "I love teaching at MiraCosta College!"
< Back to all alumni


text: On Sat, 5 Jan 2002, Owen Stampflee wrote: > Hi All, > > I am new comer to the Beowulf world and am building a small 5 node > cluster using Macintosh LCIIs running NetBSD. The network consists of a > 10BASE-T shared-media. I dont expect much for performance but this is > just for fun. > > I am looking for some theory behind message passing and load balancing > and general Beowulf application framework information. I intend to > develop applications in C++ if that makes any difference. There are various resources on http://www.phy.duke.edu/brahma, including talks and an online book on cluster computing (that includes some theory chapters). There are also links to many other useful sites, especially the primary beowulf website (www.beowulf.org), the beowulf underground site, repositories (netlib), and an online book on parallel computing. Finally, there are some excellent texts out there on parallel computing itself, and of course the book "How to build a beowulf cluster" by the builders of the original beowulf cluster. I'm not exactly sure what you are looking for, but hopefully you'll find some of the above useful. If not, ask the list again with a bit more detail -- that's why it's here;-) rgb -- Robert G. Brown http://www.phy.duke.edu/~rgb/ Duke University Dept. of Physics, Box 90305 Durham, N.C. 27708-0305 Phone: 1-919-660-2567 Fax: 919-660-2525 email:rgb at phy.duke.edu


text:
Oregon American History and Genealogy Project
In the 1840s pioneers from the East Coast border states and merchants traveling by ship from New England began to increase the Oregon population, leading to the creation of the Oregon Territory in 1848 and statehood in 1859.
Hosts: Judy White and Dennis Partridge
This is a website for sharing historical and genealogical information about the state of Oregon. We would be very happy to link to any website you have, or know about, which deals with these subjects. Any topic is acceptable as long as it deals with Oregon's history or genealogy. Please let us know if you'd like to participate in this effort - we welcome your suggestions and additions! To learn more about this project, click!
If you would like to adopt an Oregon page, please visit our Join Page. We can offer you web space if needed and many counties are still available.
Please take a stroll through our pages, hopefully you will find some answers for your Oregon Ancestors.- State Wide
- Baker County, packed with information, because of great people who have contributed.
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